HOOVER returned to the High Court yesterday as lawyers argued over the amount of damages the company should pay to a rival manufacturer.

Mr Justice Laddie presided over the latest chapter in the costly copyright battle over the design of vacuum cleaners produced by Hoover and Dyson.

In October, the Court of Appeal confirmed the validity of inventor James Dyson's patent and found Hoover had openly infringed it.

In December, the House of Lords refused Hoover leave to appeal against the ruling that the design of its Triple Vortex cleaner infringed a key patent protecting the Dyson Dual Cyclone.

Hoover removed the cyclone from its machine, renaming it "Vortex Power", which was described by Dyson as "a curious misnomer" as the machine would no longer perform like a vortex.

The Court of Appeal unanimously rejected the appeal by Hoover last October and told the company it could not appeal to the House of Lords. Hoover subsequently approached the House of Lords, which rejected its request.

A Dyson spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that legal proceedings were continuing to determine the amount of damages payable by Hoover.

A hearing was held in the chancery division of the High Court before Mr Justice Laddie, although a settlement is not expected until later this year.

A spokesman at Hoover's European manufacturing Merthyr Tydfil headquarters yesterday declined to release any details, saying, "It is a case of going through proceedings and procedures."

Dyson is likely to transfer all vacuum cleaner operations from the UK to the Far East where costs are lower.